


Curious Minds

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Series: The Grand Tour [4]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Athene Noctua Verse, F/M, Gen, Raleigh is a Dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 12:12:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3809947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako Mori is spoiled for a day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Curious Minds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pickleplum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickleplum/gifts), [Confabulatrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Confabulatrix/gifts).



> Ah-hah! I made it this year. Just barely, mind, but I did it. *grins* 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

**-April 23, 2025; Santa Barbara, California-**

Mako wakes to a sweetly smiling Raleigh, the circles under his eyes a little puffy and darker than normal. She smiles back. 

「Morning, saiai,」 he hums in Japanese, affection pouring from him as he offers a traditional Japanese breakfast: rice with umeboshi and dashi.

Her smile becomes a grin when she sees the smiley face formed by the plums. "Morning, Raleigh," whispers Mako. She floods him with tenderness and sweetness as she sits up.

He gives her a soft kiss, settles next to her on the bed.

"Where did you get this?" she asks as she picks up her chopsticks.

Raleigh ducks his head, rubs his neck. "Had a bad dream so I woke up early an' drove down to L.A. Didn't have much trouble getting the food since the port's opened back up. 's pretty busy." He looks up through his eyelashes. "Your smile was _totally_ worth the line an' the weird looks I got for speakin' fluent Japanese." 

She clucks her tongue as she caresses his cheek with her free hand. "You should have woken me." 

"Y'looked so peaceful, Maks. I didn't wanna wake you up for—" 

Knifehead flickers between them.

Raleigh shakes his head. 

"I mean it," Mako insists as she gently lifts Raleigh's face. "We do this together and the feelings flow both ways, saiai." 

"'kay." Raleigh buries his face against her neck and exhales with a sigh. "I'll remember." 

"That is all I ask, Raleigh," she murmurs as she digs into her breakfast. 

Mako feeds Raleigh bites of rice.

He feeds her bites from his omelet. 

They giggle when the occasional bit escapes to hide in Mako's rice bowl. 

"C'n I take you out? Dinner? Wherever ya wanna go?" Raleigh asks as he absently scratches at his old Drivesuit scars; the new ones are still too fresh to scratch, even if they do itch fiercely. 

"Hmm .... Anywhere?" she challenges.

He chuckles as her fingers dance lightly over his ribs. "Yeah." Raleigh kisses her jawline and peppers tiny kisses along her cheek until his lips meet hers. "Maybe some research while I go take this back to the kitchen, hmm?" 

"Of course." She pats his butt as he moves to leave.

They blush. 

"Was that alright?" she asks.

"Yes. Completely, totally alright." He presses their foreheads together. "Really wanna stay in bed and kiss you until you're dizzy, but then we'd never get anywhere."

"Shoo." Mako shoves playfully at him, then pushes the blankets from her legs. 

"Okay, okay." Raleigh floods the link with _teasing-tender-joy_ as he leaves the room. 

Mako straightens the sheets, leaving the bed is neat and tidy before she digs through their suitcase for an outfit to wear. 

Familiar affection enfolds Mako as _Gipsy_ wraps her in a mental hug. 

**_Morning, Mako! Happy birthday!_** _Gipsy_ chirrups. 

**Good morning to you, too!** Mako glows with happiness that echoes _Gipsy_ 's. **Thank you.**

**_Didja get it yet? Didja? They promised it'd get there in time ...,_** _Gipsy_ whines.

On cue, Raleigh returns with a package. "Looks like it's from our dame. You wanna wait or ...?" 

Mako makes a show of brushing her teeth.

**_Aww, c'mon! I ordered it extra early, too,_** pouts _Gipsy_.

**Impatient, are we?** she teases as she pulls on her _Coyote Tango_ t-shirt, resolutely ignoring the ache in her chest, and the vest Raleigh crocheted for her. 

**_Pretty please?_** _Gipsy_ sends a visual of Raleigh using the puppy eyes.

Mako laughs and pulls on tights under her knee length skirt. Her ankle boots will coordinate perfectly. 

Raleigh's wearing his blue sweater—the one that brings out his eyes—and a pair of faded black jeans with _Gipsy_ -logo socks. 

Mako takes the box from Raleigh, turns it to and fro.

Raleigh hands off his carving knife without so much as blinking, taking it back as she digs through golden crepe paper. 

She gasps and swipes at the tears when it reveals a _Gipsy Danger_ jacket in exactly her size. 

**_I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you—_**

Mako cuts _Gipsy_ off with an deluge of _tears-joy-belonging_. **I love it. Thank you.**

Raleigh supports her as she tears through the rest of the paper to take it out. 

She slips it on with a shrug and she turns to her reflection in the mirror. **How did you sneak this past me?**

_Well,_ Raleigh sheepishly scrubs a hand across his nose and settles it on his neck, _we can lie through omission. Not telling isn't the same as an outright lie._

**Hmm. I will have to remember for your birthday,** remarks Mako cheekily. She leans up for another kiss. 

Raleigh obliges and wraps his arms around her. 

After a long moment, they break. They slip on their boots and wave to the desk concierge on the way to their nondescript rental car. 

"So, where're we goin'?" Raleigh starts the car.

"Two places." 

"Just two?" he teases lightly. 

"Plus dinner, but I would like to start with a Wine Country biking tour, which we must finish by two to see the whales," Mako recites.

Raleigh's face lights up. "That sounds great, Maks. Address?"

* * *

They park in the gorgeous hills and walk to the winery's front door. There are a few other couples and a few single people but they don't stand out too badly. There are a few speculative glances at their jackets but no one comments on them. Raleigh goes into the winery and comes out with a small basket that gets strapped onto the wire frame behind the seat of Raleigh's bike. He won't tell her what's in it, only giving her a mental raspberry when she asks. 

They ride companionably for a while with the group and then take a small trail that leads them off the beaten path and up a hill. Raleigh stops just short of the top, laying the bike down after he removes the basket. Mako sets down her bike as well with her lips pulling up into a smile as she sees the wide view it offers. There's a tree overhead as Raleigh spreads out a thick, checkered cloth in light blue and white. 

Mako and Raleigh sit close, trying different cheeses and meats to go with the two mini bottles of wine. He keeps shooing her away from the basket he brought along with but she wants to know what's in it. 

"Raleigh, you can't keep the basket away forever." She chides with a wry grin. 

"No, you're right, I can't." He teases but pulls it closer so she can open it. Mako bounces in place when she sees the strawberry cake. "Good choice?" 

"Yes." She kisses him and then huffs as the basket blocks her from kissing him the way she wants. "We eat that and then I get to kiss _you_ into dizziness." 

"Hmm. What a way to go." Raleigh sighs with a nudge. Both of them burst out laughing at that, Mako sharing her fork with Raleigh. He tugs on the plastic tines with his teeth when she tries to pull it back after the fifth bite of cake, his gaze soft and happy. "Mako?" He lets go and looks down, a slight blush turning his cheeks pink. 

"Yes?" 

"Love you." She pulls him close, barely remembering to push the cake to the side before she kisses him repeatedly. 

"Love you too." Mako sighs in Japanese, raising up onto her elbow to see his dazed face. 

"Mm, didn't expect it to go that well." He murmurs as he glances up at her through his lashes. "Wanna play hooky an' not go see the whales? Scar some poor old couple?" 

"We have plans, you. Stop trying to distract me." Mako pokes at Raleigh's cheek as she kicks her feet back and forth in the air. 

"It's my favorite thing to do though." Raleigh leans up to kiss her again, pressing thier cheeks together as they bask in each other's presence. "Umm, did you move the cake?" 

"Yes," she laughs as he turns to see it perfectly safe. "Would you like to finish and go on the whale tour?" 

"Mm-hmm."

* * *

They barely make it on the boat, Mako having to snag Raleigh's sleeve to pull him on board. Kaiju Blue is a major concern so the California waters are still considered poisonous. They'll have to go out much further if they want to see any whales today. 

"Made it! Wow, how fast were we goin'?" he asks as they lean on the netted rail. 

"I may or may not have been speeding." Mako offers quietly with a nudge. 

"I don't wanna know." Raleigh admits with a shrug that gets his arm over her shoulders. 

"The old yawning trick?" she questions with laughter in her voice. 

"Yup." The unrepentant grin makes her roll her eyes but they're in waters that are extremely familiar. "Hey, wait a sec. Isn't this where Yamarashi..." 

"Mm-hmm." 

"Right. Don't tell me they put the crane wire-" Both of them look at the memorial statue of _Gipsy Danger_ holding the crane wire with matching expressions of irritation. Raleigh groans and buries his face in her hair. She can't blame him; that kill was thier first and messy to boot. 

"On your right, you'll see the memorial statue the city commissioned of _Gipsy Danger_ after the fight in 2017 against Yamarashi." The tour guide states in a cheerful tone. "The wire with the statue is what was used by the pilots to take down the Kaiju." 

"Cool. I heard they cut off it's head."

Raleigh barely keeps from face-palming. Mako understands, especially when Raleigh tugs Yancy's scarf higher over his face. 

The thought comes over the link. _Maybe I should've worn a hat._

**We should be alright. They're more interested in the whales than us, saiai.** she reassures as they stand as close as possible. 

_Sure hope so._ Raleigh sighs as the boat turns to open waters and the guide starts describing the surrounding area. He tenses up when he hears a noise and then there's a spray of water off the left side. 

"Would you look at that, folks! We're surrounded by an entire pod." The water sprays up against thier side, Mako awed at the enormous mammal in front of her. 

**They're _amazing_.**

_Yeah._

The whales are jumping, splashing and generally showing off for the boat they're on. She coos at the smaller whales that bump the boat and laughs when she gets sprayed with a fine mist. 

The rest of the whale-sighting tour is wonderful. Mako thoroughly enjoys herself on the way back as she stays pressed against Raleigh's side.

* * *

Dinner's a quiet affair on the waterfront. They'd Skype'd Tendo as well as Hermann before changing to go out again. The service is quick, fairly quiet and the violin music is soothing. Mako holds hands with Raleigh as they talk about the places they might want to go to on their trip. 

They steal bites of each other's food, laughing when Raleigh looks like a chipmunk with noodles in his cheeks. 

Her heart aches something fierce without Sensei this year, seeing how he'd always take out to dinner with just them. 

"Saiai?" Raleigh looks at her with a fair amount of concern but she shakes her head. 

"Sensei used to take me out. It's... different." 

"Yeah, I know," Raleigh's fingers gently squeeze her own before he signals for the check. "You wanna go back?" 

"Not yet," Mako allows quietly as they watch the sun go down. The last few minutes are bright and she can blame the sun for the tears that slip loose. Raleigh wipes them away and presses soft kisses to her eyelids. 

"'M here, Maks. Promise." He remarks after they pay and are walking towards their car. 

"I know."

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback would be lovely!


End file.
